Melvin T. Smith v. Massachusetts
543 U.S. 462 · Decided February 22, 2005 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Melvin T. Smith v. Massachusetts was decided on February 22, 2005 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Double jeopardy” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 543 U.S. 462 · 125 S. Ct. 1129 · 160 L. Ed. 2d 914 · 2005 U.S. LEXIS 1398
- Docket number
- 03-8661
- Decided
- February 22, 2005
- Argued
- December 1, 2004
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Antonin Scalia
- Opinion assigned by
- John Paul Stevens
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Double jeopardy
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fifth Amendment (double jeopardy)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Dissent |
Full case caption
Melvin T. Smith v. Massachusetts
SCDB identifiers: case 2004-021, docket 2004-021-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Double jeopardy”
- David Allen Sattazahn v. Pennsylvania
- David Bobby v. Michael Bies
- F. Scott Yeager v. United States
- Angel Jaime Monge v. California
- Hugo Roman Almendarez-Torres v. United States
- John Hudson v. United StatesAltered precedent
Cases on the same legal provision: Fifth Amendment (double jeopardy)
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Laroyce Lathair Smith v. Texas
- Gerald Devenpeck v. Jerome Anthony Alford
- Florida v. Joe Elton Nixon
- David Whitfield v. United States
- United States v. Freddie J. BookerLaw held unconstitutional
- Illinois v. Roy I. Caballes
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error